Within the quiet walls of the guest chamber nestled deep in the castle grounds, Luke sat at the edge of the bed, eyes narrowed as he stared down at the parchment and map laid before him on the wooden table. The soft glow of the lantern above cast flickering shadows across the markings, as though the lines on the paper themselves whispered secrets just out of reach. Ilyrana was near, seated beside him with her hands in her lap, her silence a steady comfort amid his turbulent thoughts.
Two possible locations. That's all he could piece together from the riddle thus far. Two places that tugged at him with equal weight—and equal danger.
His finger traced the eastern border of the map again, where the ink turned to a thick, jagged line that divided the Known World from the place simply labelled The Unknown. A land of darkness. Of endless monsters. A place spoken of in warning, in whispers, in stories told to children to make them behave.
